


breathing out the ease

by psidn



Series: did the sky open up? [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Military, Challenge: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics | SASO 2016, Death, Ghosts, M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-16 21:24:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7285264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psidn/pseuds/psidn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ushijima keeps saying that Tendou's dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	breathing out the ease

**Author's Note:**

  * For [doxian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/doxian/gifts).



> for [this prompt](http://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/13854.html?thread=5088286#cmt5088286), where ushijima says "once tendou's passed on."
> 
> title from [under your spell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk1w9NLhzJg)

“Tendou’s dead,” Ushijima says.

Tendou flicks his forehead. Ushijima doesn’t react. (Typical.)

“I’m right here, Wakatoshi,” Tendou says. “It’s gonna take more than a stray spell to kill me.”

Ushijima rolls over in his bed (okay, army-issued sleeping bag, latest tech and magic folded into the lining to keep the body temperature steady, exactly the same as Tendou’s which is lying crumpled barely thirty centimetres away, waiting for its owner to crawl in) and says nothing.

Tendou grunts. He slips his hand into his jacket and pulls out a wrinkled comic, lays it on his knee, and tries to smooth it out.

“Look, I even brought your favourite with me this time.”

Ushijima’s breathing is steady. He must have fallen asleep.

“Guess I’ll read it before you, then,” Tendou says. “Like usual. Then I’ll explain the plot to you once you’ve read it and completely missed the important bits. Like usual.”

Tendou gives Ushijima a last look before crawling into his sleeping bag, not in the mood to get changed. It’s cold. He finishes reading the comic, slips it back into his jacket under the covers.

“Weird,” Tendou mutters to himself. The sleeping bag still feels cold.

\--

Tendou once read somewhere that Antarctica is classified as a desert because the waterfall is below a certain limit. He doesn’t remember what the limit is, but it’s something to think about while staring out at the snow drifts and waiting for Ushijima.

“Hey, Wakatoshi,” Tendou calls, from outside the tent. “You’re missing a beautiful sunrise.”

Ushijima says nothing, possibly too busy considering his boots, or whatever it was he was doing when Tendou left him there.

“Ha! I’m kidding,” he says. “You missed sunrise by several days. That’s what we get for picking this post, huh?”

When there’s still no reply, Tendou goes back into the tent, only to freeze in shock. Ushijima’s hunched over his boots, completely still except for the steady rise and fall of his back as he breathes, head in his hands.

“Hey, Wakatoshi,” Tendou says. “What’s, uh, what’s wrong?”

Ushijima’s shoulders hunch up. Tendou presses the tips of his fingers against the bit of Ushijima’s neck that’s exposed, right above the collar.

“C’mon, it can’t be that bad,” Tendou whispers, trying his best to sound reassuring.

Ushijima shivers, brings his hand up to the back of his neck so that it rests on top of Tendou’s fingers.

“Ha, yeah, my hands are pretty cold. That’s what you get for leaving me to wait outside the tent for you,” Tendou says. “Let’s get those boots on, huh?”

“Tendou’s dead,” Ushijima mutters.

Tendou jerks his hand back, surprised to find himself upset. “Okay, that was kind of funny last night, but don’t keep it up, Wakatoshi.”

When Ushijima says nothing again, Tendou huffs and heads to the entryway of the tent. “If you’re going to be useless today, at least read the comic I got you,” he says, pulling it out from his jacket and throwing it on the ground.

\--

Several days pass like this, with Ushijima lying in his sleeping bag, barely bothering to eat some rations, never going near the radio controls.

Tendou finds that he doesn’t have much of an appetite, so he doesn’t join in for meals with Ushijima. It’s not like Ushijima has apologized yet for saying Tendou’s dead. Tendou’s tried to handle the radio himself, but for some reason everything goes haywire whenever he gets near it. Like there’s excessive magical discharge left on him, or something. Tendou can’t remember the protocol for that, and when he asked Ushijima about it, Ushijima continued to do his impression of a rock, so.

“They’re going to think we’re both dead, over at base,” Tendou says. “Ha ha, get it, because you keep saying I’m dead.”

Ushijima’s eyes look glazed over as he stares at the side of the tent. Tendou looks around the tent from where he’s sitting in front of Ushijima.

“At least you read the comic,” he grumbles. “I don’t see it on the ground where I left it, so I can only assume you did so, but it’s equally possible you took it and… and… I don’t know. Used it as a hat.” He squints at Ushijima. “They always say I’m weird, but lately you’ve got me beat at that.”

Tendou leans over to get a better look at Ushijima’s face. As he does so, he realizes there’s a curious resistance against his chest that shouldn’t be there. Tendou sticks his hand into his jacket and pulls out the comic.

“You, uh, you must have,” Tendou fumbles, his fingers scrambling against the cover of the comic, feeling cold, “snuck that back into my jacket. For some bizarre reason. Right, Wakatoshi?”

Ushijima doesn’t say anything.

“Right? Wakatoshi?” Tendou asks, frantic.

Ushijima rolls over to face the other side of the tent, maybe for an exciting change of pace.

“Tendou’s dead,” he says again, a soft whisper that Tendou can hear as loud as a gong.

“Oh,” Tendou says. “So I am.”

\--

“Tendou’s dead,” Ushijima says.

Tendou is used to this by now, has had enough time to consider his predicament from all angles. He finally has a reply.

“So bring me back,” he says, and presses a kiss against Ushijima’s forehead.

Ushijima frowns, rubs at the spot where Tendou left his kiss.

“I’m going to bring him back,” Ushijima says, and it’s the first new thing he’s said in a month.


End file.
